The Butterfree Effect
by Ginjaa Ninjaa
Summary: Ash got a sleeping tablet from the cabinet in the bathroom. Going to bed early on the night before he chose his first pokemon would have serious rammifications for the pokemon universe. No one knew just how much this would change things, not even Arceus.
1. The Butterfree Effect

If there was one thing in the relatively short life of Ash Ketchum that he truly idolized, then it was Pokémon without a shadow of a doubt. The fact that they all looked cool and were able to use moves such as breathe fire out of their respective mouth's or exhume copious amounts of toxic gas from the pores on their body was simply mind blowing.

It was just the fact that the world of Pokémon seemed to be a limitless world and to the creative mind of Ash Ketchum, it was something that just enraptured him to delve further and further into wanting to become a Pokémon trainer. That was why he was so excited about tomorrow because tomorrow was the day in which he would finally get the chance to get his first Pokémon. What this meant was that he could start his journey to becoming the greatest Pokémon master that the world had ever seen.

Now despite the fact that Ash was a relatively dumb boy who had not the greatest grades academically, there was one thing that Delia knew that her precious little boy had in spades. That was ingenuity and right at the moment he was using it to the highest degree to make sure that he got first pick for his Pokémon.

Climbing into the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, it took a while but eventually as, being as silent as possibly could, found what he was looking for, they were special tablets which allowed one to go to sleep much easier than normal. For a ten year old boy to have one intended for a full grown adult, well it was safe to say that within mere minutes of the boy ingesting the capsule and running back into his bed before his mother found out what he had done, Ash fell asleep easily, thinking about what tomorrow had in store for him.

He didn't know just how much his life changed from its original intended course when he decided to take that sleeping pill and go to bed early the night before the big day. No one did, not even Arceus knew just how much of a change the chosen one waking up early rather than late would have on the world.

**The next morning**

Delia was heavily surprised that morning as she thought that her little boy would have woken up much later since he went to bed later than normal. That was why she was heavily surprised when she found her son awake at six. This was a time that only she was awake at because she used this exercise and keep fit.

Hearing the shower going, the mother of one assumed that she probably should start making breakfast for the love of her life as no doubt the moment that Ash finished getting dressed, he would be wanting some food before going over to Professor Oak's house to collect his first ever Pokémon.

The ten year old boy was very grateful that he had chosen to take a shower that morning as it allowed him to fully wake up instead of just being a dead man walking.

With the adrenaline fuelling his body and the thought of finally becoming a Pokémon trainer which was about to happen, Ash ran down the stairs and found a nice hearty breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, grilled tomatoes and a whole lot of other things waiting there for him.

Savouring the taste because he knew that from now on, meals were not going to be anywhere near as good in comparison to his mother's cooking, ash savoured the food before giving his mother Delia a quick kiss on the cheek before running out the door at his fastest pace. He already had in mind which pokemon he wanted.

**Professor Oak's house**

Having read the form which stated that the first time one was allowed to come over to his house to choose their Pokémon, was 7:00 on the dot, Ash Ketchum waited for the last five minutes before it said 7:00 on his watch to tick over, the moment that that happened, the 10 year old boy both pressed the doorbell and knocked on the door at the exact same time.

It was a few minutes later and after repeated knocking that Samuel Oak came to the door with a slightly irritated look on his face which Ash did not noticed at all. This was thanks to the fact that his mind was too busy elsewhere thinking about what it was going to be like having a Pokémon of his own.

Knowing what ten year old kids were like on this very morning each year. The Professor had just learnt to go with it as there was always one kid who came early to pick his Pokémon that day. He just never thought that it would be Delia's boy who he initially thought would come last out of the four kids with Gary being the first since he lived in the same house as the Pokémon.

Nevertheless, Professor Oak obliged and let the black haired boy inside his home and directed Ash to his private laboratory which was where the poke balls were contained the three starter Pokémon of the Kanto Region.

"Now Ash sorry for sounding rude, but could you please make your decision quickly as I would like to be able to go back to sleep and get some much needed rest." The aging man said who had streaks of grey going through his hair.

"Yeah yeah" Ash absentmindedly stated as his mind was elsewhere because of the fact that the glass case which contained the Pokémon. Each poke ball had the respective Pokémon's name inscribed onto the ball making Ash's decision just that much easier.

Now the black haired boy had thought long and hard about the decision that he was just about to make as in the life of Ash Ketchum, no decision he was ever going to make, would be greater than the one that the one that he was about to make right now. There were so many different possibilities that he could choose from. Well that was the thought of Ash, in the mind of any normal adult, there was only three choices, but hey, you get the idea.

He could have the Charmander, a fire breathing lizard which had a tail that was lit on fire. Talk about cool. The downsides though would be that it would be hard at first considering the two gyms were places that a fire type Pokémon was weak to. That didn't mean anything though as Ash was confident that his determination would be able to see him through anything. So what if he had to complete a little extra training before he could attempt to win his first badge, his dream was to become a Pokémon master, not to become the world's youngest Pokémon master, if that happened, it would only be a bonus.

The middle option in terms of difficulty at the start of his journey was for Ash to pick a Squirtle as his starter Pokémon. That way he would be on even footing when he battled the second gym whilst easily defeating the first one since it was a rock gym. That and the fact that Squirtle's were also a cool Pokémon since they could shoot water out of their mouths made Squirtle a good choice, just not the one for him.

Finally there was the grass type Pokémon Bulbasaur. Now admittedly this Pokémon wasn't as cool as what either a Charmander or a Squirtle was, neither was a Venasuar was not as cool as a Charizard or a Blastoise, but Ash wasn't the type of person who based his Pokémon choice on how cool they were, he was the type of person who would welcome any Pokémon into his group if they wanted to join him. Ash just wasn't the type of person who wanted things handed to him as he was the person who struggled through school whilst his rival Gary Oak was the one who got everything handed to him on a silver platter because of the fact that his grandfather was incredibly famous. If he chose Bulbasaur, it would be like going against his roots and Ash was proud of those roots and that was why he had made his decision as to which Pokémon he would choose for his starter.

Had he known that there was another Pokémon to choose from, an electric type, well it would have totally screwed up with his plans and would have made him have to rethink everything, but if there was one quote that the black haired boy lived by, even if unintentionally, it was that Ignorance is bliss.

"Well anyway, I've made my choice and I have chosen Charmander!" as this was stated Ash reached down and picked up the ball that said Charmander and struck a pose with it. The scene was one that made Professor Oak laugh quite a lot.

Ash didn't see this at all though as he was too busy focused on the fact that he finally had a Pokémon to become best friends with. It was then that the musings of the black haired boy were cut short as he was being spoken to by Professor Oak. "Now Ash, here is your Pokedex which is your most important possession as it is your form of ID. It is also what allows you to challenge for badges and if you get to the point where you are able to compete in the indigo league, it will be able to prove that you haven't stolen any of the badges." Professor Oak stated to which Ash took the information on board but his mind was too distracted about the fact that he was actually a real Pokémon trainer. It was a surreal experience for Ash as it was finally sinking in now that he had a Pokémon and a few poke balls that his dream of becoming a Pokémon master was one step closer.

After that, Ash kept on listening to what the Professor had to say about Pokémon but honestly… he wasn't paying any attention at all as he was too busy in his mind obsessing over the fact that he was now a fully-fledged Pokémon trainer.

Once everything was all said and done, Ash finally got the go ahead from the Professor in that he was now allowed to exit the lab and start his Pokémon journey after what seemed like an eternity for the hyperactive boy. In actuality it was only half an hour, but still…

On the way out of the laboratory, Ash passed the slowly awaking figure and with a cocky smirk that Gary himself loved to employ, Ash gave one to the grandson of Samuel Oak which seemed to infuriate Gary. As he was doing this, Ash held out his poke ball in front of Gary which made the boy's eyes go wide with realisation and it was that that made Gary sprint into gear and get into his Professor's lab before anyone else could take a Pokémon from him. He expected to have first choice but now he was cursing himself for being too relaxed this morning.

Walking out the door of the Professor's lab there was a smug smile of satisfaction as he saw the look of horror and outrage on the face Gary Oak and that was just priceless. He wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world.

With the one up on his rival, Ash Ketchum decided that it was best that he went back to the house and said goodbye to his mother before he left on his journey to become the greatest Pokémon master that there had ever been.

**Ketchum residence**

What seemed like a long time which in actuality was not that long at all, Ash ran to his house and didn't even bother to announce his presence by knocking on the door as he just opened it and went straight inside.

"Maaaaaaaaaam! I'm home and guess what, I was the first person there at Professor Oak's laboratory and I got the first pick in what Pokémon I wanted and I chose a Charmander!" the recently turned ten year old boy stated in a slightly rushed tone of voice as if the whole world revolved around him right at that very moment. In the eyes of his mother Delia, it did and she was very happy to see such a large smile on her son's face.

Now having taken the time to regain his breath from not only speaking in a fast tone but also running back all the way from the Professor's laboratory to home, Ash Ketchum spoke up to his mother. "Do you wanna see my Pokémon mum!" as this was coming out, the black haired boy knew that he was going to do it whether or not his mother wanted him to or not, he just wanted to her to be there with him.

Knowing that this was a momentous occasion for her son's life as a Pokémon trainer and just as a human being in general, Delia didn't even have to be asked the question as this was something that she wouldn't have missed for the world. Thanks to the incessant talking that her son did about Pokémon, she knew what a Charmander was and that it had that flame on its tail.

"Sure thing honey, but we best do it outside as I don't want anything getting burnt down inside the house." Delia stated to which Ash happily obliged to his mother's question. With that said, the mother and son went outside into the backyard so that they could both meet Ash's first Pokémon together for the first time.

Once the two were outside in the open air, Ash Ketchum did what he planned to do immediately. Pressing the button on the poke ball before throwing it out, Ash as well as Delia waited in anticipation for the next moment. First, there was a red light that materialized directly out of the poke ball.

The next thing that happened was that the red light started turning into a distinctive shape. That was that of a Charmander as the final piece of the puzzle was a small orange lizard that had a flame on the end of its tail.

The slightly scared animal opened its eyes after having come out of the poke ball for the first time. The first person that Charmander saw was none other than her trainer Ash Ketchum. Thankfully, Ash had the common sense to get down on a level which Charmander would not feel intimidated by. In addition, Ash's mother Delia had told him to hold his arms out in a hugging fashion. From the conversations that she had had with Sam, new Pokémon were very fragile. Initiating that connection with them from the start was very important.

The first thing that the Charmander did was look around at her surroundings. She wanted to make sure that there wasn't any danger that she had to face. Once she realised that there was nothing that was going to harm her, she then saw Ash Ketchum.

Seeing the young kid, she instantly knew that this boy in front of her was going to be her trainer. It was some sort of ability that all Pokémon knew when they saw their trainer.

Tentatively, Charmander offered her paw out into a spot where Ash could reach it with his own hand. Being careful as he remembered his mum telling him to treat his knew Pokémon as if it was as delicate as a human baby, Ash slowly grasped the paw of his first ever Pokémon. it would have been foolish for anyone to question whether or not Delia had caught this particular moment on video for her to watch countless times in the future.

The moment was instantly ruined though as Ash jumped forward surprising Charmander and before she even had time to react, she was wrapped up in a hug. The jolt was enough for her to get scared and blow a small stream of fire onto her new trainer.

Fearing her one and only son, Delia quickly rushed over to her son so that she could make sure that he was alight. She didn't know what she would do if he was injured. He was her previous baby boy. If she lost him it would be just too painful to go on. It was hard enough as it was letting Ash go on his Pokémon journey but she knew that it was something that he was destined to do whether she approved of it or not.

That utter feeling of fear was quickly alleviated as the expected sounds of crying never came. Instead her son was laughing! It was hard to believe for Delia but her son was actually laughing as he continued to hug his Pokémon. The smile that was on her face was bittersweet as she watched the once in a lifetime moment with her son and his first ever Pokémon. She knew that she would love to see more of these moments. That though was not going to happen as frequently as she wanted with him being a Pokémon trainer.

The bond between Ash and Charmander was almost instantaneous. The human and Pokémon instantly connected and Delia knew that they were going to be the best of friends. The only thing that was left to come was the eventual emotional goodbye.

**Ten minutes later**

After getting to know his Pokémon just that much more in the short space of time, Ash Ketchum decided that there was no better time than right then to start his Pokémon journey. "Maaaaaaaaam, you're embarrassing me, I know I know, I won't do anything stupid alright." Ash stated with a bit of boredom in his voice. Whilst he knew that he was going to away from his mother for a long time, he didn't see the point in acting so emotional about it.

That was the thing though, Ash was only a ten year old kid, not a single mother who was watching her not even adolescent son go into the harsh world to become a Pokémon trainer. Tears were rapidly pouring down her cheeks as she silently watched her son.

Realising that this might have actually required a bit of tact on his behalf, Ash walked back over to his mother from where he had started to start his Pokémon journey. He then jumped into his mother's chest and gave her the biggest hug possible.

Whilst it was only a small thing, it meant the world to Delia who instantly returned the gesture and wrapped her arms as tightly as she possibly could around her only son. "I love you Ash and I am going to miss you a lot."

As he heard the words coming from his mother, the black haired boy could only let out a couple of tears as they ran down his face. "I love you to mum and I promise to call you on the video phone when I get a chance." The hug continued on even as the two had finished speaking.

Eventually, the mother and son broke their contact. It was then as if a light switch went on inside the mind of Delia as she remembered something of the upmost importance. "OH! Ash, remember to change your you-know-what's every single day!"

The black haired boy didn't bother replying, instead he just ran in the direction of Viridian City.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I have had this story on my hard for a while now and finally got around to finishing the first chapter. This is pretty much an intro chapter with the only important information is the change in starter pokemon and what effect this will have when Ash starts his journey. Chapters for this story and my other pokemon one are going to be considerably shorter compared to my other stories.**

**If you want to throw Ideas on who you would like to see Ash primarily use, then feel free as I have not yet decided on who will fill up the squad yet with.**


	2. Struggles and Hardships

To get to know each other better, Ash had decided that it would be best to start the journey to becoming the best ever Pokémon trainer via getting a closer relationship happening between the two. Thanks to this, Ash was learning more about the personality of his first Pokémon.

From what the black haired boy had gathered, his Charmander was a girl who was quite scared. It was only after she got to know someone that she opened up to them. He hoped that this was something that she would overcome in the near future. If that was not to be the case though, then he would love his Charmander just as much.

Walking up the final hill of Pallet town, Ash Ketchum and Charmander saw their first obstacle on the path to becoming a Pokémon champion. That was Route 1 which would take him to Viridian city. Little did Ash know that the true reality of what it meant to become a Pokémon trainer was just about to show itself around the corner.

Seeing a wild Pokémon that seemed to be feeding on the local vegetation, Ash had the brilliant idea that this would be his first chance to catch a Pokémon. Looking down at his starter Pokémon beside him, Ash knew that there was no better time than now to start getting first-hand experience on what it meant to be a Pokémon trainer.

"Hey Charmander, let's say we battle our first Pokémon together!" the enthusiasm that Ash stated this with was enough to make the hesitant fire breaking Pokémon trust in its trainer. Having the bright idea of using his Pokedex for the first time, Ash pulled the device out of his pocket. Opening it up, the black haired boy pointed it in the direction of his Charmander. A few seconds later and the device came back saying that his Charmander was level five and the only two attacks that it knew were scratch and leer.

With that information to work with, Ash felt that he was ready to tackle this challenge head on. "Okay come on Charmander, we can do this! All we have to do is believe in ourselves!" The single statement was enough to boost up the confidence of his Pokémon. It was something that Ash felt that his Pokémon needed. Confidence was the key for getting the best out of Pokémon he felt.

"Go Charmander! Use scratch attack on that enemy Spearow over there!" Ash stated as he pointed towards the flying type Pokémon. With the borrowed confidence of her trainer, Charmander raced as fast as her tiny little legs would carry her towards the Spearow. As she was doing this, her claws were pointed out in an aggressive manner.

Because the Spearow was eating at that very time, it was not focusing as much as it should have been for a wild Pokémon. That was why the attack of Ash's Charmander successfully connected with the bird type Pokémon. Jumping back in preparation in case there was a counterattack just about to happen, Charmander watched on with careful eyes.

The tick in the eyes of the Spearow was evident. The Pokémon was thoroughly pissed off. It had been enjoying a nice feed when some Pokémon decided that it would be best to come up and attack it. Said Spearow was the strongest of a group of Spearow occupying Route 1.

Turning around, the Spearow noticed that the Pokémon who had attacked it was a Pokémon which had a trainer. There was a known fact that Pokémon without trainers were substantially jealous of Pokémon that had trainers. This was something that only made the Spearow even angrier.

With a rather offensive nature as standard, the Spearow flapped its wings and lifted off of the ground. Gaining speed as it flew in the air, the flying type Pokémon aimed directly at the fire breathing lizard with its peck attack.

With his heat in the moment complex in full swing, Ash Ketchum managed to think quickly enough and utter a few choice words. "Charmander jump to the side and dodge the attack!" Hearing the words from her trainer, Charmander did just that as she narrowly missed the incoming enemy.

Angry that it did not hit with its intended target, the Spearow rounded back up and prepared for anther dive down to attack Charmander. This time the attack yielded the same result as the previous time. Unlike the previous attack, the Spearow continued through with the diving manoeuvre and headed straight for Ash Ketchum. Not expecting this at all, it was only thanks to the back pack that he was wearing that Ash hardly felt any damage. What it did do though was that it knocked him to the ground.

Stopping in mid-air, Spearow decided to have a change of plans where it instead decided to the use the wing attack. Because Ash did not have enough time to get up once more and defend himself against the attack, it meant that it was going to connect directly with his chest.

That was not to be however as there was a Pokémon standing in between the oncoming attack and Ash Ketchum. That was none other than his Charmander.

Nothing but pure horror filled the wide and expression filled eyes of Ash Ketchum. This was definitely not how he planned his Pokémon journey to start out like. He had initially expected for it to be sunshine and daisies as caught Pokémon after Pokémon whilst training up the ones that he currently had. There was never a part of the plan where things went wrong.

That was not how life worked though. There would be times when things were going great and nothing could get any better. On the contrast though there were times where everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong. Now was one of the latter moments.

Panicking at what was in front of him, Ash started to hyperventilate as he didn't know what to do in a situation like this. In the end though, the fear clouded mind of Ash thought that the best thing to do was to get the hell out of the situation that he found himself in.

To do this, Ash picked up his Pokémon in his hands rather than using a poke ball to store the Pokémon. Things like this would come with experience for Ash Ketchum. Sadly he did not have the time to think through things clearly and that was why he was only putting even more stress onto the situation than what it needed.

Because Ash was still only a pre-adolescent boy, it meant that he hadn't gotten the muscle that puberty provided. What this meant was that it was very easy for the Spearow to catch up to the two and start pecking the two of them. Thankfully in the mind of Ash, the Pokémon was targeting him more rather than his injured Charmander. Whilst the injuries hurt a bit, they were nothing that the adrenaline couldn't handle at the time. Anything after that was a problem for future Ash to deal with, not present Ash.

Running as fast as his legs could carry him, Ash, fuelled with adrenaline ran and ran until he came up to an impasse. Right there in front of him was a cliff that had a small waterfall right beside it. Knowing that he couldn't jump in there to dodge the incoming Spearow, Ash Ketchum pulled out his poke ball and used it to send the Charmander back into the ball.

Hoping for the best and not the worst out of the already painful scenario he found himself in, the black haired boy got a big breath of air and jumped into the cold water below.

With the adrenaline still kicking through his body at this current point in time, Ash Ketchum managed to move around in the water. Had it not been for the adrenaline, Ash would have had a very hard time when it came to moving.

The sheer temperature that the water was at was enough to make his body not want to move at all. That fear though was quickly pushed to the back of his mind as there were more important things at stake. That was the fact that he still had an injured Pokémon, his starter Pokémon no less under his care.

Placing the poke ball that was in his hand back into its holster on his hip, Ash started swimming freestyle hoping that he could find a way to safely get some help. The rocks that surrounded him as well as the current were enough to make even the fool hardy Ash wary of his surroundings. One false move and he could hit himself hard on those rocks. If that happened it could potentially lead to worse things. The worse possible scenario was that there could be a fatal injury.

Being able to get his breath by popping his head up above the water, Ash then got forcibly dunked down below once more. This time he saw a rapidly approaching blue thing charging at him. It was only until it was very close to his body that Ash realised that this was a Gyarados that was in front of him.

Somehow or rather, Ash Ketchum managed to pivot in the water and got out of the incoming path of the dragon esque Pokémon. It was then that Ash saw the break that he had been looking for. Right there, in front of him was a lure. This obviously meant that there was someone there who would be able to help him out.

Stretching his hand out as far as it could go, Ash grabbed onto the hook. This was not done without sustaining an injury. The good thing though was that it was only a minor flesh wound. On the other hand though, it was still a wound that his mother would fret over and exaggerate to the cows came home.

**With Misty**

Feeling a tug on the fishing line, the red haired girl thought that she had caught a real winner of a Magikarp. Judging by the force behind the tug, Misty hoped that this would be a really highly levelled Magikarp that wouldn't take much longer to evolve into a Gyarados. The waters to the north of Pallet town heading towards Viridian City were not known for having any Pokémon other than the Pokémon of the orange fish variety.

Using all of the strength that her muscles provided, Misty used a single burst of power to bring the Pokémon out of the water so that it would make it much easier to catch, once it was on land. "Hey! I got a bite!" the ginger haired girl said to herself as if it was a form of channelling her energy into the fishing rod.

It was at that moment where the dreams of Misty Waterflower sadly dissolved as she realised that she had not in fact caught a massive Magikarp. Instead, in an even unlikelier scenario, she had managed to catch a boy about her own age out of the water. This was definitely going to be a day to remember. It was also going to be a day that would change her life forever, this though was something that she did not know.

It was then that she realised that the kid she had just pulled out of the water was not the only life form nearby. One of the poke balls that the kid had been carrying had flew out of control when flying through the air and hit a rock when it landed. The fact that it was a very sharp rock and landed directly on the point where the two poke ball halves met made it so that the poke ball's metal had a crack in it.

Luckily the Charmander that came out of the now destroyed poke ball was unharmed but more importantly it was dry. Taking interest in the Pokémon that had just gone over and crawled onto the stomach of Ash, even if her trainer was sopping wet, Misty wanted to see if the Pokémon was alright. "Oh…. Are you okay?"

Misinterpreting who the comment was for, Ash thought that it was for him and responded with a relieved smile on his face. "Yes, I think that I am okay."

Annoyed at the kid in front of her who didn't seem to have any Pokémon experience at all, Misty replied in her typical fashion. That was through aggressive speaking. "Not you! Look what you have done to that poor little thing." In a turn of events that would continue to baffle Ash for as long as he knew the girl in front of him, the tone of Misty's voice dramatically changed into a soft and caring one as she squatted down to have a look at the Charmander on Ash's lap.

"Is it breathing?" Misty asked as she noticed that it was a Charmander in front of her. Whilst fire type Pokémon were definitely not her favourite Pokémon, she could not deny that Charmander's were cute.

Before Ash could even offer up some sort of response Misty once again changed her attitude when it came to talking to the black haired boy. It went back to the usual aggressive and angry Misty that Ash first met. "Well don't just stand there! Your Charmander needs a doctor straight away! There is a medical centre not too far away from here, you have to hurry!

Realisation came to the forefront of Ash Ketchum's mind as he figured out that this girl in front of him obviously meant some sort of hospital specifically designed for Pokémon. Adrenaline was almost instantly once again fuelling Ash as he got up off of the ground and stared directly at Misty.

Once he was told in which direction the Pokémon centre was, conveniently, from over the hill there was the same Spearow that had attacked him and his Charmander approaching fairly fast. There was a difference this time around compared to the previous time. Unlike before, this Spearow was not alone. He had entire flock of Spearow right behind him.

It was then that Ash saw the bicycle that the girl beside him had used in getting to this particular spot beside the river. A brilliant idea if he admitted it to himself, Ash quickly picked up his injured Charmander and placed it in the basket. Before Misty could really do anything about what had just happened, Ash Ketchum had already got on the bike and had started riding in the direction of viridian city. The only thing Misty heard was the fleeting comment of "I'll give it back some day!"

It seemed as if the moment that Ash started riding off at the fastest possible pace that he could sustain, the heavens started opening up and large rain clouds started forming in the sky. It even got bad enough that there was thunder make its presence known in the clouds.

Unfortunately the faster flying speeds of the Spearow allowed the flying type Pokémon the chance to catch up to Ash. It this wasn't bad enough, it seemed as if the flash rain storm picked up and was pouring the rain down quite heavily. This started affecting Charmander inside the basket who let out soft whimpers due to the pain that it was in.

Due to the heavy rain clouds that were in the immediate area, the lighting that was falling down from the sky did a great deal to thin the numbers of the flock of Spearow attacking Ash and his Charmander.

The main Spearow that was just about to attack Ash with his peck attack suddenly decided that it was not worth it and decided that it would head back to its nest. This was because it didn't want to let the pidgey and Pidgeotto that were hanging around the chance to escape and gain the upper hand. Its flock had already taken a few injuries and it didn't want to take any more.

Not complaining at all about the sudden decision to move away, Ash Ketchum quickly remembered about the condition that his Charmander was in and picked it up. Knowing that fire type Pokémon hated the rain, Ash looked around for some sort of cover that he could hide under and prevent his Pokémon from taking any damage.

What the black haired boy didn't know was that he could have stored his Pokémon inside a poke ball. Now the trainer thought that once caught, Pokémon could only go into the one ball. This was to prevent trainers capturing Pokémon other trainers had already caught. Had Ash known that once a poke ball was destroyed it lost that connection with the paired Pokémon, then he would have used one to save his Charmander.

Thankfully Charmander had not suffered too much from the rain falling down on. What was even better was that there was a hollowed out base of a tree that Ash saw and got under the cover as quickly as possible.

It seemed as if it was something that Kanto could produce when it came to freak whether conditions changing. At most 10 minutes had passed since the first drop of rain had fallen but the skies had already started clearing up and did not look like coming back.

Whilst it was certainly a risk to go out in the open Ash decided that he could potentially run all of the way to Viridian City and allow his Charmander to get treatment. It didn't take that long for Ash to go through the options and choose his course of action. It was the answer that had Delia been there with him, she would not have been surprised one bit when he made his decision. It was the decision to go for it and run to Viridian City.

**At the Police Station**

"Attention citizens of Viridian City! We have reports of possible Pokémon thieves! Be on the lookout for suspicious looking people and report any activity that you find immediately! … Speak of the devil!" it was as these words were said that Jenny herself noticed that there was a kid running through one of the main streets with a Pokémon in his hands. Judging by the very red facial expression on his face and the way he was heaving air into his lungs, he had been running for a long time.

This could have been one of the potential Pokémon stealers that were around town and she was definitely not going to allow him to get away without some form of questioning!

"Hey! Where do you think you are going with that Pokémon young man!" the lady in uniform questioned as she quite roughly grabbed onto the collar of Ash's shirt.

Offended by the insinuation that the Pokémon in his hands was not his own, as well as the fact that he had rather limited time, Ash responded in a tone that his mother would not have approved of. Especially to an authoritive figure like Officer Jenny. "It's my Pokémon and it is hurt! I have to get it to the hospital right away!" let it not be said that Ash cared for respect in this situation at hand.

It was then as if the maternal instincts that all women have, came out from the officer on duty as she looked down at the injured Charmander in Ash's hands. "Awww… I am so sorry! I thought you might have stolen this Pokémon. Can you please just show me your identification and then you can go."

It took a while, but somehow or another, Ash Ketchum remembered the words that he had been lectured on during his visit to Professor Oak that morning. He remembered that his Pokedex was his form of I.D now.

Only a half a minute later and there was dawning realisation on the face of Officer Jenny. "Oh today must be the day that Professor Oak is giving Pokémon out to the new trainers. You are the second person that I have seen from Pallet town this morning." Unaware was officer Jenny as Ash Ketchum was internally wondering who it was who was in front of him on his journey to becoming a Pokémon master. _It's probably Gary…_

"It's very unusual to see someone carrying around a Pokémon without it being inside a poke ball, especially an injured one!" the blue haired lady said as she unknowingly brought thoughts to Ash's mind.

"Well I was travelling and I fell and the ball dropped and broke and then it rained so I had to get Charmander out of rain. I then decided to run all the way here from the forest so I could get Charmander to the hospital as soon as possible. I will have to go back into the forest and find the rest of the poke ball and get someone to fix it so I can store Charmander in there."

Thanks to her line of work, Officer Jenny had quite a lot of experience when it came to dealing with stressed out individuals. Whilst that was mostly adults, she did have more than the average amount of experience when it came to children. Holding out her hand, the lady in uniform stopped any more potential rambling on from the kid in front of her.

"Kid, didn't you know that once a Pokéball is broken, the Pokémon that lived in that ball is technically considered a wild Pokémon." the dawning realisation spread like a wildfire through the facial expressions of Ash Ketchum. First there was bewilderment until finally stopping on absolute Joy. Not having to be told what to do next, Ash instantly pulled out one of the five poke balls Professor Oak gave him and recaptured his Charmander.

With all of the misunderstandings out of the way, Ash spoke up. "Thanks for that officer Jenny but can I please go now and take my Charmander to the hospital?" Ash stated with a relieved smile on his face.

"I'll get you there in no time at all!" Officer Jenny said with a smile on her face and winking with one of her eyes. Just as they were leaving the police station, there was the sight of Misty Waterflower right behind them carrying the broken bike on her shoulders. She was also coughing up quite a lot. This was from the smoke that was released from the exhaust of the motorbike. One thing was for certain, this only increased the volatile temperament that was waiting to be unleashed at the boy who had destroyed her bike.

**With Ash**

Unlike what Ash had been suspecting what would happen when they reached the front of door of the Pokémon centre judging from the driving style of Officer Jenny, the blue haired lady dropped him off and quickly wished him luck. Once that was done she stated that she had to go back to the police station in case any serious issues with the Pokémon thieves came up.

"Welcome to the Pokémon centre. Would you like me to heal your injured Pokémon?" This was the token response that all Nurse Joys were obligated to say when they saw a trainer come to the reception.

Not wasting any time, Ash quickly started speaking. "Miss, my Pokémon is injured real bad, can you please heal it."

"Sure little boy, can you please get your Pokémon out so I know what equipment is needed."

Ash didn't need to be asked twice. Once he heard what he had to do, he would go to the ends of the earth to make sure that his first Pokémon was healed and wasn't going to suffer anything permanent.

Once the light of the poke ball faded and there was the injured Pokémon on her desk, Nurse Joy looked at the Pokémon. She didn't even have to take a long look. All that was needed was the mere glance at the tail of the Charmander in front of her to know what she was dealing with. The flame on the tail of the Charmander was almost out. She assumed that she was going to have to pull yet another all-nighter thanks to the inexperience of young Pokémon trainers. It wouldn't do well though to rip into the traumatized kid though, at least until the immediate danger went away.

Speaking into the microphone that was right next to the computer, Nurse Joy called out to the resident Chansey Pokémon which started preparing all of the medical equipment needed. Once this was done, the pink haired lady pulled on some latex gloves and prepared to go into the emergency ward of the Pokémon centre. That was until she was stopped by Ash who was wondering what condition his Pokémon was in. That, as well as the fact that he was hoping that there was something that he could do to help out.

Annoyed at the fact that quite a large percentage of Pokémon trainers coming from Pallet town once receiving their first Pokémon always seemed to get themselves into bad situations, Nurse Joy took part of her frustrations out on the boy. "You could be more responsible. If you want to become a Pokémon trainer, you don't let your Pokémon fall into such bad conditions as this Charmander is!"

Before Ash could even get a chance to defend himself, Nurse Joy quickly cut him off. "What happened in the past stays in the past. Now we have to heal your Pokémon." there were more important things at the moment then talking with bad Pokémon trainers in her eyes. With that said, Nurse Joy quickly turned around and headed through a corridor where only she and the resident Chansey's were allowed. This just left Ash to think back on the mistakes that he made today and what he could do to improve on them.

**Later**

What seemed like forever was actually only thirty minutes in real time. For the first time in his life, Ash, the ever hyperactive boy was sullen and down trodden. He was repeatedly going over in his mind what had happened earlier in the day to figure out what he could do to ease the guilt that was heavily residing on his conscience.

It was then that Ash realised after looking at the video phones this wasn't something that he had to go through alone. He could talk to someone about this and hopefully get some help on the matter. There was one person that he wanted to talk to the most. That one person though was the one person that Ash didn't want to at all. It was none other than his mother. The reason why he didn't want to talk to her was simple. Ash didn't want to disappoint his mother at all. She was his mother and his sole role model. She did everything for him and Ash would rather her angry at him rather than disappointed in him which was what he knew was coming.

Still, the advice that he was going to get from this conversation was going to outweigh whatever negative emotions she was going to have for him. This was why Ash chose to make the call back home. Dialling the number that he knew off by heart, the black haired boy was mentally preparing himself for what was about to come.

When she asked where he was, he subsequently told her that he was in Viridian City. The look of pride and astonishment on her face was palpable. It only made the guilty conscience of Ash even worse as he knew that it was soon going to change.

"You're the apple of my eyes honey!" Delia stated.

However her son mumbled something under his breath which he didn't intend for her to hear. "Yeah, a rotten apple that is…"

"Ash Ketchum! I won't let you talk about yourself like that! Just be confident and you will meet every challenge that comes your way! I know you can do it. You're my son!

Now tell me what has gotten you down in the dumps. You know that I always have been there for you and will continue to be there for you no matter where you are in the world."

Once that was said, ash thus began recounting the story of what had just happened right to the very conversation that they were having. It was now time for Delia to deal out some motherly advice that would forever change the way that her son viewed the occupation of being a Pokémon trainer.

"Listen ashy, life is something that isn't always as fun and easy as you might have thought it is. There will always be times that life will throw something to derail you off your intended path just like what happened today. You just have to try and best prepare yourself for whatever scenario could happen." Little did Ash know that his mother was speaking from firsthand experience.

"Ash, I know that you didn't like studying that much when you went to school, but maybe if you started reading some more books on how to be a good Pokémon trainer, situations like this will never have to happen again. Even if you don't want to read the books, read them for the sake of whatever Pokémon you catch in the future.

It might not seem like fun right now but I am sure that down the future you will be thanking me for listening to my advice because remember… a mother always knows best." With that said, Ash quickly said a goodbye to his mother, promising that he would try and read a few books on Pokémon training. He also promised that he would call her once he reached Pewter City so that he could tell her about all of the improvements that he had made as a Pokémon trainer since this recent incident.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Once again, this chapter has not been beta read by me, I have plans for the upcoming weekend that will not allow me to be near a computer. I thought that you might like this rather than having to wait until Monday for me to update this story.**

**Also, I have a fairly concrete idea for which pokemon ash is going to catch. That does not mean that I have finalized my selection yet though. If there is a pokemon out there that you feel free to send me a suggestion as to why you want it and I will try to give a response which doesn't give away spoilers.**


End file.
